Is It Just Paranoia?

Posted on 22 Jan 2016 @ 5:30pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Cyrin Xanth

1,993 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Crew Quarters, 01-0602 SO
Timeline: MD 02, 0730 Hours

[ON]

Cyrin's hand shook badly as he reached for the panel to announce his presence to the person who occupied the quarters he stood outside of. He was still able to press the right key, and the chime sounded. In all his time serving on board the Galileo - which really wasn't that long, about a year now - he'd never actually said a single word to Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm. Cyrin had only served on the bridge a couple of times, enticed or forced up there by Commander Kohl, and otherwise had stuck to the lab and astrometrics, avoided crossing paths with her in the corridors, and made sure if they were ever in the mess hall at the same time he was clear on the other side of the room. He was always intimidated by superior officers, but there was something downright frightening about an Admiral that went beyond his nervousness around the Captain, Commander Stace, and the others.

Nevertheless, he had to do this. Cyrin had tossed and turned all night since their escape, unable to sleep, unable to stop thinking the dark thoughts he'd been having, and it came down to needing to tell someone about it or driving himself crazy. Given his restless night the young man looked pale, haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and messy hair that stuck out in some places or lay flat in others. He hadn't visited Sickbay yet either; his interrogation might have been relatively minor compared to many of the others, especially since Cyrin knew very little of any tactical importance. Still, he had a purple and yellow bruise on his left cheek and moved with a slight limp. The Trill had figured there were plenty of others much worse off who needed the attention of the medical staff, and he'd hurt himself much worse playing his sports before; he could handle a few scrapes and bruises. It certainly didn't help him look very presentable for meeting with an Admiral, but if she agreed to speak to him at all, Cyrin figured she might forget all about how he looked.

"Enter!" came Lirha's voice from inside her chambers, which had a bit of urgency in the tone. The Orion was currently getting dressed and ready for duty for the day, and had just put on her red command undershirt in her bedroom when the chime sounded. With quick steps, she made her way out into the living room and stood in front of the door somewhat impatiently.

As the doors opened for him, Cyrin stepped inside quickly, making sure to move out of range of them so they would swoop closed soon after. Perhaps a bit presumptuous, he knew, but he didn't want them to be overheard. "Uh-uh, Admiral," the astrophysicist began, talking fast, and not talking very well, "I am s-s-sorry to um, to disturb you uh, so early, sir. B-But there's something I th-thought I should tell you. I d-don't kn-know wh-who else to talk to. If I'm r-r-r-right, there cuh-could be someone d-dangerous on board still, s-sir. Because of the singularity. Uh, I m-mean the um, the vortex?" Actually standing in her presence now for the first time, Cyrin's little confidence was completely shattered and his lips raced to try to keep up with his mind, likely making him make little sense. "W-w-with C-Commander K-Kohl g-g-gone, I uh...Wuh-well, s-s-someone sh-should know. The v-vortex. It sh-shouldn't have happened, s-sir."

Lirha couldn't really make heads or tails of what the young man in front of her was trying to communicate. She frowned and looked up at the slim, athletic man with dark hair, then held up her green hand to briefly interrupt. "Ensign, please...slow down. I fear you will have an anxiety attack and will require medical attention."

She offered the grey-eyed man a small smile to help reassure him, then motioned towards her couch to offer him a seat. "Sit, and take a deep breath."

Cyrin looked a bit surprised to be asked to sit, but sit he did without protest or hesitation. After taking a few breaths and finding somewhere to look other than at the Admiral herself - somehow that made things just a bit easier, though a little creepy too - he tried again to put his thoughts in order and make himself go slowly. "Admiral, the uh...the vortex. All evidence s-seems to point towards a r-random burst from the secondary deflector h-having caused it. Um, but you s-see, the odds of that are uh...astronomical. The vortex was so specific in its f-form and function. We should have been crushed or vapourized or spaghettified, but instead we um, um, went th-through without any issues. Well, considering. But m-more, we w-wound up in one of the other universes Starfleet has encountered b-b-before, out of an infinite number of possibilities, s-sir." What Cyrin was struggling to get around to was simpler than he was saying, and deeply troublesome: the initial vortex, caused by random events, should have been far more likely to have destroyed them than create a portal, and that the portal lead to the Mirror Universe out of infinite other destinations, it stretched the realm of plausibility too far.

"Yes, yes, an infinite number of possibilities...," she repeated, knowing deep in her heart that fortune had been on their side. "And with infinite universes, yes?" That sounded like a strangely familiar phrase, once she let it go from her lips.

The Trill nodded enthusiastically, glad that he hadn't lost her with his fumbling, "Yes, that's it, exactly. So how d-did we w-wind up in th-that one specifically, out of all the others? I mean, um, sir? Wh-what I m-mean is...the only th-thing I c-c-can th-think of to reduce these im-im-uh..." Cyrin paused, took a breath, tried again. "To reduce th-these impossible odds to s-something r-reasonable is th-this: the discharge was not random." His voice grew smaller, his shoulders sank, and his eyes darted about fearfully without him realizing he was doing it. "I th-think w-we w-were suh-sabotaged intentionally, Admiral."

Lirha slapped her green hand down on the tabletop which echoed across the entirety of her tiny office. "Can you please stop...stuttering? I can barely understand you." She wasn't sure if she was amused or irritated, but was leaning towards the latter. "Relax, ensign," she repeated.

Cyrin had had many different kinds of reactions to his problems with speaking over the years since his Joining, but Admiral Saalm's was certainly new. The crack of her hand made him jump, his eyes went about as large and round as they could, and his spine ramrod-straight. "Aye, sir," he said, breathy, shaky, but at least without stuttering this time. He looked the furthest thing from relaxed at the moment, stunned more than anything, but was going to try to obey. "I believe we were sabotaged, Admiral," he repeated very slowly and very carefully.

The Orion's eyes stared intently at him, judging and searching his irises for any sort of subliminal explanation. "...Sabotaged...and brought to the Mirror Universe on purpose...?"

The scientist nodded emphatically, "Yuh-yes sir. The odds of us w-winding up there by accident are juh-just too extreme. Is it possible it h-happened by chance? Yes, b-but it's more likely th-that the star Rigel w-w-would collapse into a black hole this very s-second, along with all it's n-nearby galactic neighbours within five luh-light years." The stutter hadn't gone away, but he was trying really hard to remain clear. "Statistically, what happened is t-too hard to buh-believe, Admiral."

The Orion took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, her green fingers now tented in her lap while she pondered the accusations being presented to her. "Do you have any evidence of this? Or is it purely...numerical speculation?" she then asked.

"Well uh," Cyrin shifted on the balls of his feet, looking more uncomfortable than ever. His eyes darted around the room, looking at just about everything but the Admiral herself. It was obvious what his answer was going to be before he even made his poor attempt at explaining. "N-not um, not physical proo-proof, s-s-sir..."

"Okay. Let us assume that -- even without substantiation -- your hypothesis is correct," she continued before pausing for a brief moment. "Who on this crew would have sabotaged us? And for what reason?"

"I don't kn-know, s-s-sir," Cyrin replied, calming down a little that she hadn't just laughed off his concerns. He had all sorts of ideas tumbling around in his head on what the purpose behind it might have been, this act of sabotage, but he knew well enough to keep most of the wild possibilities to himself. "P-perhaps w-we were infiltrated by one of th-them for a r-reason. M-maybe they w-wanted something. M-maybe they got it."

Saalm began to tap one of her sharp nails against the table while she pondered such a situation. High implausible, but not impossible, she reckoned. "How would an alternate from the other universe even get into our plane?"

"With a m-multi-dimensional uh...transporter, Admiral," Cyrin answered. "Isn't th-that how they've d-done so before?" This was where the scientist's experiences and knowledge began to break down. He'd paid little attention to the stories about the Mirror Universe before, at least until now.

"Ensign...if what you are saying is true...this is an urgent matter for Starfleet Intelligence. Now that you have brought it to me attention, it is my duty to follow through with your hypothesis. But I need more evidence. Proof of what you are saying," she tried to sympathize with the man.

"Uh, understood, uh, Admiral," Cyrin stammered. He wasn't sure how he might go about getting that proof, but he at least had a couple of ideas where to start. An investigation of this sort was far beyond his capabilities, Cyrin knew that, so he was going to have to enlist the help of others. There was a problem with that though. "H-how will I kn-know who to trust, s-s-sir? It c-could be that who-uh-whoever was responsible is um, um, still on board."

"I would suggest bringing this to Captain Holliday's attention," she answered plainly enough. If there was anyone who was considered to be trustworthy on the vessel, it was him. "Or perhaps Mister Faye. He is our intelligence chief, after all."

Cyrin turned even more pale at the mention of bringing the Captain into the loop. Saalm was intimidating enough because of her rank, but she was also personable and that helped things while Captain Holliday was likely going to be harder to deal with. Cyrin didn't know much about Faye at all, and had thought about speaking to Gyce and K'os. Really though, he wasn't sure who he could trust.

"Aye, sir," he settled for, wondering where this investigation was going to lead.

"Very well, ensign," the Orion said with a curt nod. There was not much else that she was able to do with the information that was presented, except to wait for the investigation to unfold. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed. I expect to see a follow-up report on your findings within the next several days."

"Aye, Admiral," Cyrin said and snapped to, pulling off decorum a little better now at the end of the conversation at least than he had at the start. She still obviously intimidated him, not even counting the chance she might herself be involved with sabotage, but Cyrin made an effort to end this with some dignity. "I w-will have a preliminary r-report soon, sir." With that, and only a small bit of twitchy, suspicious looks at his surroundings, the scientist left her quarters.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

&

Ensign Cyrin Xanth
Astrophysicist
USS Galileo

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